Bastard Indians

The Times today reviews a book about the history of curry. It confirms, as postcolonial writers from G.V. Desani to Salman Rushdie have told us for years, that Indian food, language and, hell, nation is a just a sublime mishmash. To wit: The Portugese brought to Goa a meat dish with vinegar and garlic, or "vinho e alhos." Indian cooks, lacking wine vinegar, substituted tamarind sauce and peppers and rechristened the dish "vindaloo." Whoo-hoo, vin-da-LOOOOO!!!!!

The book also discloses that ketchup was originally made with MUSHROOMS!

For more on the mating of Indian and Western tongues, this etymologically delicious Anglo-Indian dictionary, and find out where words like juggernaut, pajamas, junk and bungalow come from.